I have vivid memories of a night during the elementary years for my three children when I stood at the edge of the parking area behind our church, tears threatening to spill over, as a train ran its track only a few yards away. Its noise was the only thing loud enough to muffle the …
Light in the Darkness
I am simply not a morning person. I’ve tried over the years to press myself into a schedule that more closely approximates my husbands, especially when our children were small and insisted on being awake with the sun. This is my predicament once again with small grandchildren, but try as I might, I just cannot …
All I Want For Christmas
I lose track of my phone more often these days. I check my email less frequently. I scroll social media less often and more quickly, scanning for birthdays and baby pictures. I don’t have dementia (at least I don’t think so!) I have grandchildren! It’s so much easier to put a pause on my devices …
Obedient To The Call
I’m used to God living and moving freely inside my head. He has unimpeded access to my thoughts and knows my words before I speak because I surrendered my life to Him in Christ and His Holy Spirit abides in me. His work in this season of my life involves my learning to let Him …
Passionate Commitment
Same dress, same hair, same smile, she shared the stage with the others, but she sat while they stood. She had my heart before I knew her name, just like my grandchildren. I enter a room with my heart extended. I can’t help it. I used to think I simply had a soft spot for …
Special Privilege
It’s officially December and Christmas is only a few weeks away. Yet December twenty-fifth would pass like any other day unless I choose to observe its significance and celebrate it. Since it falls on a Sunday, I will attend a worship service at my local church and share a meal with family, but between now …
Impress Them
My precious sister loves my children well, loves them like her own, even before she had two girls of her own. She and my daughter are very much alike as God designed them. Both taught 5th grade for three years before staying home with children. Both love to bake and their love language is giving …
Keeping The Glass Full
My husband pushed his empty iced tea glass closer and closer to the edge of the table, frustrated with the lack of service during dinner. He’s always been a good tipper, having worked in just about every position in an independent grocery from the time he was old enough to work and on through college. …
What’s For Dinner?
My husband hit a home run with dinner plans when he asked if he could pick up a specific meal from a specific restaurant for us one evening. In our thirty-one years of marriage, we’ve had plenty of exchanges involving what we’d have for dinner that sound like echoes. What do you want? I don’t …
Trust Fall
As I sat rocking her, my granddaughter, Amelia, jerked suddenly, enough to wake herself from a sound sleep. As I tried to soothe her, an image from the past appeared vividly in my mind. My husband and I were at summer camp with our kids and the teens from our church. Our group was divided …
A Fitting Reply 